Pensioners

David Marshall: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many  (a) male and  (b) female pensioners there are in each Parliamentary constituency in Scotland.

David Cairns: The number of male and female state pension claimants in each parliamentary constituency in Scotland is provided in the following table.
	
		
			  Thousand 
			Gender of claimant 
			  Scotland  Total  Female  Male 
			 Total 943.78 603.98 339.8 
			 
			 Aberdeen North 15.31 9.82 5.49 
			 Aberdeen South 15.76 10.21 5.54 
			 Airdrie and Shotts 13.78 8.97 4.81 
			 Angus 17.67 11.19 6.47 
			 Argyll and Bute 19.81 12.55 7.26 
			 Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock 20.41 12.89 7.52 
			 Banff and Buchan 16.97 10.48 6.5 
			 Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk 20.54 12.75 7.79 
			 Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross 12.44 7.79 4.65 
			 Central Ayrshire 17.55 11.32 6.23 
			 Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill 14.59 9.46 5.13 
			 Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East 13.66 8.8 4.86 
			 Dumfries and Galloway 22.19 13.79 8.4 
			 Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale 18.44 11.46 6.98 
			 Dundee East 17.04 10.89 6.15 
			 Dundee West 16.34 10.43 5.91 
			 Dunfermline and West Fife 15.54 9.92 5.62 
			 East Dunbartonshire 17.61 11.13 6.48 
			 East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow 18.49 11.93 6.55 
			 East Lothian 18.53 11.73 6.79 
			 East Renfrewshire 17.23 11.14 6.09 
			 Edinburgh East 14.2 9.13 5.07 
			 Edinburgh North and Leith 13.44 8.78 4.66 
			 Edinburgh South 14.44 9.54 4.9 
			 Edinburgh South West 14.34 9.25 5.08 
			 Edinburgh West 18.64 11.84 6.8 
			 Falkirk 18.31 11.7 6.6 
			 Glasgow Central 10.69 6.78 3.91 
			 Glasgow East 14.99 9.82 5.17 
			 Glasgow North 9.06 5.91 3.15 
			 Glasgow North East 15.34 10.07 5.26 
			 Glasgow North West 14.64 9.83 4.81 
			 Glasgow South 14.62 9.69 4.93 
			 Glasgow South West 14.45 9.61 4.85 
			 Glenrothes 15.99 10.16 5.83 
			 Gordon 15.25 9.53 5.73 
			 Inverclyde 15.93 10.41 5.52 
			 Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey 17.36 11.06 6.3 
			 Kilmarnock and Loudoun 17.74 11.34 6.39 
			 Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath 18.58 11.87 6.71 
			 Lanark and Hamilton East 18.27 11.81 6.45 
			 Linlithgow and East Falkirk 18.38 11.69 6.69 
			 Livingston 13.98 8.94 5.04 
			 Midlothian 14.53 9.23 5.3 
			 Moray 17.28 10.81 6.47 
			 Motherwell and Wishaw 15.73 10.15 5.58 
			 Na h-Eileanan An Iar 6 3.83 2.17 
			 North Ayrshire and Arran 19.68 12.63 7.05 
			 North East Fife 16.91 10.71 6.19 
			 Ochil and South Perthshire 18.63 11.72 6.91 
			 Orkney and Shetland 7.88 4.95 2.93 
			 Paisley and Renfrewshire North 15.57 9.95 5.61 
			 Paisley and Renfrewshire South 16.3 10.55 5.75 
			 Perth and North Perthshire 20.07 12.71 7.36 
			 Ross, Skye and Lochaber 13.18 8.34 4.84 
			 Rutherglen and Hamilton West 17 11.2 5.8 
			 Stirling 15.98 10.15 5.83 
			 West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine 13.99 8.7 5.28 
			 West Dunbartonshire 16.55 10.91 5.64

Forestry Stewardship Council

Gregory Barker: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission what plans the House Administration has to begin refurbishment work to the parliamentary estate; and whether Forestry Stewardship Council wood is planned to be used in such refurbishment.

Nick Harvey: The parliamentary authorities continue to draw up plans for the ongoing refurbishment and upgrade of the parliamentary estate. All wood used on the estate has to be obtained from sustainable managed sources. The specification of materials allows wood suppliers to source timber from forests or plantations that are properly managed and cause no harm to other eco systems such as those certified by the Forestry Stewardship Council.

Medal Collection

Julian Lewis: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission by whom the decision was taken to remove the medal collection from their original display cases near the House of Commons terrace and remount them in new cases; when the decision was taken; and what factors were taken into account when  (a) making the decision and  (b) commissioning the new cases.

Nick Harvey: Following discussions with Members of both Houses, the Serjeant at Arms, who has responsibility for the fabric of the House and is the point of contact for the medal collection, asked the Curator's Office at the start of the summer recess to undertake a redisplay of the medals. The previous display, which was mounted in 1978, was dated and poorly laid out by modern standards. Furthermore evidence of insect infestation had been identified in the display cabinets. As part of the project to refurbish the display, the medals were cleaned, conserved, and documented over the summer, and a new hanging scheme devised and implemented. The felt lining in the existing cabinets was replaced and the glass was brought up to modern museum standards. Following research, the display was reconfigured in a more logical and easily understandable way, with new text labels being provided in order to explain the history and importance of the medals. The final part of the project will include increasing the ambient light level.

Medal Collection

Julian Lewis: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission what assessment has been made of the extent to which the newly mounted medals near the terrace  (a) have been displayed (i) evenly and (ii) showing their ribbons and (b) are labelled appropriately.

Nick Harvey: The initiative to refurbish the display cabinets and re-display the medals in a new and more meaningful way has been met with enthusiasm from both Houses. Once lighting has been improved, and the lettering of the text captions resolved so that they are easily read, the project will be complete. There is no proposal to increase the amount of ribbon showing beyond that already on display.

Domestic Waste

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations he has received regarding micro-chips used to monitor domestic waste.

Ben Bradshaw: The Government have received various representations from hon. Members of Parliament and members of the public inquiring about the Government policy on the installation of micro-chips in householders' bins. These representations included inquiries on the use of chips to monitor domestic waste. Increasing recycling levels is an important element of tackling climate change.

Natural England

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much his Department originally allocated for Natural England first year's operating budget; and how much has been allocated for 2006-07.

Barry Gardiner: Natural England inherited its budget for 2006-07 from English Nature, the Rural Development Service (RDS) and parts of the Countryside Agency, which came together to create the new organisation. It is, therefore, not strictly possible to make the comparison the hon. Member is looking for.
	The full-year 'core' budget for Natural England has now been set at just over £170 million, but this does not include a number of significant areas of expenditure such as the full costs of former RDS corporate services and some of the costs of the Shared Service Organisation. Once these and other funding streams are factored in, the total budget will be over £225 million.
	The Secretary of State hopes to be able to announce Natural England's 2007-08 budget in the next few days.

Ofwat

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what responsibility Ofwat has to  (a) monitor,  (b) report and  (c) intervene in relation to investment commitments of utilities; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: Each year companies provide, in their June return submissions to Ofwat, a range of financial information including levels of investment to meet agreed outputs. This information is published in Ofwat's 'Financial performance and expenditure of the water companies in England and Wales' 2005-06 report. A copy of this report has been placed in the Library of the House.
	The choice of capital structures is for the management of the companies, not the regulator. Ofwat has no powers to approve or reject individual company proposals. In each case it considers whether the ring-fence around the regulated company should be strengthened as a means to protect customers from any undue risk.

Ethnic Minorities

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what support her Department gives to encourage students from ethnic minorities to take up  (a) careers and  (b) training in (i) music, (ii) the media and (iii) sport.

David Lammy: My Department is active in a number of ways. We continue to work very closely with the Department for Education and Skills on the Music Manifesto, which sets out a series of shared aims for music education including improving opportunities for young people to broaden their musical interests and skills, and to develop a world-class work force. These aims are about improving music making opportunities and pathways for progression for all young people, including those from ethnic minority backgrounds.
	In addition, the Creative Economy Programme diversity strand has been looking at breaking down barriers to entry into the creative industries for people from disadvantaged and minority groups. This includes, but is not exclusively dedicated to, ethnic minorities and entry into careers in the music and media industries.
	In relation to the media, section 27 of the Communications Act 2003 places a duty on Ofcom (the Office of Communications) to promote training and equal opportunities in employment by television and radio broadcasters. The Cultural Diversity Network (CDN) was also launched in October 2000 by television broadcasters with the aim of promoting cultural diversity both on and off-screen.
	The UK Film Council's document, "Success through Diversity and Inclusion" (published 2003) is specifically designed to help increase the diversity of the British film industry's work force across the film industry value chain. That strategy very clearly references the actions needed to encourage students from black and minority ethnic groups in particular to take up careers in the film industry.
	The council's joint film skills training strategy with Skillset, 'The Bigger Picture', has also fully integrated the industry's equality and diversity commitments. In addition, the UK Film Council/Skillset Graduate Fellowship Programme provides graduates from minority ethnic groups with funded work placements for up to one year in film companies that represent different aspects of the film business.
	DCMS aims to increase the number of ethnic minorities to participate in sport. A crucial factor of this is to ensure a sufficient and highly skilled workforce supported by a core curriculum and career pathway that will encourage students to work, train, and stay in the sector. It should also represent the communities to allow engagement of ethnic minorities from grassroots participation to the training of coaches.
	Our non-departmental public body Sport England, works to build capacity within the delivery system for sport with key partners such as SkillsActive, the National Governing Bodies of Sport and County Sports Partnerships. An important part of this is the promotion of equality in sport, which underpins their work. In addition, Sport England funds the leading sports equity agencies which assist in implementing the Equality Standard for Sport aimed at increasing involvement from ethnic minorities among other groups. The delivery system also provides a framework for training coaches and volunteers.
	SkillsActive is licensed by the Government as the Sector Skills Council for active leisure and learning to lead the skills and productivity drive in these sectors through the development of fit for purpose, industry-led qualifications. Their partnership work has developed sports apprenticeship programmes and other endorsed qualifications which must adhere to strict guidelines on ethnic minority registrations.

London Olympics

Dennis Skinner: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what locations in the East Midlands are being considered by her Department to serve as training sites for athletes for the 2012 Olympics.

Richard Caborn: The London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG) is putting together a 'Pre Games Training Camp Guide' in which facilities in the UK that have been selected as providing a suitable training environment are listed by location and by sport.
	LOCOG have released details on their website, inviting expressions of interest from potential host facilities. Applications can be made on the London 2012 website: www.london2012.com/trainingcamps. Applications will initially be assessed locally with selection coordinated by the Nations and Regions Group Coordinator. A proposed list of facilities will then be submitted to LOCOG for final selection. This guide will be the primary means of informing National Olympic Committees (NOC) and National Paralympic Committees (NPCs) when choosing where to stage their pre-games preparation camps for 2012. The guide will be distributed to NOCs and NPCs in July 2008.

Parliamentary Questions

Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when she will reply to the hon. Member for West Worcestershire's letter of 24 August 2006, reference CMS 47989/gh, concerning a constituent.

Shaun Woodward: holding answer 20 October 2006
	I replied to the hon. Member's letter of 24 August, reference CMS 50109 on 23 October.

British Nuclear Tests (Australia)

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he has discussed the Australian Participants in British Nuclear Tests (Treatment) Bill 2006 with the Australian government.

Derek Twigg: Defence Ministers have not discussed the Australian Participants in British Nuclear Tests (Treatment) Bill 2006 with the Australian government though provisions of the Bill have been discussed at official level.

Correspondence

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will take steps to provide the hon. Member for North East Milton Keynes with a substantive reply to his letter of 2 October to Wing Commander Conway, Station Commander RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus.

Adam Ingram: I replied to the hon. Member on 20 October, in accordance with our stated 15 working day target for answering correspondence.

Departmental Accounts

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library copies of the National Audit Office's management letters relating to his Department's annual accounts for each financial year since 1997-98.

Adam Ingram: I will write to the hon. Member, and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Departmental Strategic Plan

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  if he will place in the Library a copy of his Department's Strategic Plan for 2005-06;
	(2)  if he will place in the Library a copy of his Department's Corporate Plan for 2005-06.

Adam Ingram: There is no single Defence document either titled 'Department's Strategic Plan 2005-06' or 'Department's Corporate Plan for 2005-06'. The Department's strategic direction is set out in the Defence White Paper 'Delivering Security in a Changing World' (Cm 6041-1). We will be publishing a further Defence White paper this Parliament. The Departmental Plan 2005-09, which sets out in detail how we as a Department fulfil the aspirations we have set out in the Defence White Paper, has already been placed in the Library.

Sexually Explicit Publications

Diane Abbott: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what assessment she has made of the effect of the unregulated sale and display of magazines and tabloid titles carrying sexually explicit and degrading images of women on efforts to improve gender equality in England.

Meg Munn: The Government recognise that some images and articles in magazines and newspapers on sale in many newsagents may be offensive to many people. The controls which exist on unsuitable material aim to strike a balance between freedom of expression and protection of the public and to be proportionate to the potential harm that might be caused.
	Under the Obscene Publications Act 1959 it is a criminal offence to publish any article which is considered to be obscene; that is, an article which in the view of the court tends to 'deprave and corrupt'. The Indecent Displays (Control) Act 1981, also makes it an offence to display any indecent matter which is exposed to view in a public place or where it can be seen in a public place—it is for the courts to decide in each case whether the material in question is indecent or not. The Act also applies to the front covers of newspapers and magazines on public display.
	If a newspaper or magazine does not contravene the criminal law, it is for the newsagent to decide whether it should be sold and, if so, where it should be displayed in the shop. Most newsagents and supermarkets abide by a voluntary Code of Practice, refusing to sell 'adult' magazines to persons under the age of 18 and placing sexually explicit magazines on their top shelves.
	Government policies in the round are tackling the portrayal of women in the media.

Pensioners

David Marshall: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people receive the retirement pension age addition for those aged 80 years or over in each constituency in Scotland.

James Purnell: The information requested is in the following table:
	
		
			  Parliamentary constituencies  State Pension age addition recipients 
			 Aberdeen North 3,400 
			 Aberdeen South 3,600 
			 Airdrie and Shotts 2,200 
			 Angus 4,100 
			 Argyll and Bute 4,300 
			 Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock 4,000 
			 Banff and Buchan 3,500 
			 Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk 4,500 
			 Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross 2,300 
			 Central Ayrshire 3,900 
			 Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill 2,800 
			 Cumbernauld Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East 2,300 
			 Dumfries and Galloway 4,300 
			 Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale 4,100 
			 Dundee East 3,700 
			 Dundee West 3,500 
			 Dunfermline and West Fife 3,000 
			 East Dunbartonshire 3,400 
			 East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow 3,900 
			 East Lothian 4,500 
			 East Renfrewshire 4,000 
			 Edinburgh East 2,700 
			 Edinburgh North and Leith 3,200 
			 Edinburgh South 4,100 
			 Edinburgh South West 3,800 
			 Edinburgh West 4,400 
			 Falkirk 3,900 
			 Glasgow Central 2,200 
			 Glasgow East 3,100 
			 Glasgow North 2,600 
			 Glasgow North East 3,000 
			 Glasgow North West 3,600 
			 Glasgow South 3,400 
			 Glasgow South West 2,900 
			 Glenrothes 3,500 
			 Gordon 3,400 
			 Inverclyde 3,500 
			 Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey 4,200 
			 Kilmarnock and Loudoun 4,200 
			 Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath 4,100 
			 Lanark and Hamilton East 3,600 
			 Linlithgow and East Falkirk 3,800 
			 Livingston 2,100 
			 Midlothian 3,400 
			 Moray 3,500 
			 Motherwell and Wishaw 3,400 
			 Na h-Eileanan an lar 1,300 
			 North Ayrshire and Arran 3,800 
			 North East Fife 4,200 
			 Ochil and South Perthshire 4,000 
			 Orkney and Shetland 1,900 
			 Paisley and Renfrewshire North 3,200 
			 Paisley and Renfrewshire South 3,400 
			 Perth and North Perthshire 4,800 
			 Ross Skye and Lochaber 2,800 
			 Rutherglen and Hamilton West 3,100 
			 Stirling 3,500 
			 West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine 3,400 
			 West Dunbartonshire 3,400 
			  Notes:  1. Data is taken from the 5 per cent. extract of the Pension Service Computer System as at September 2005, and the figures are subject to a degree of sampling variation. They are also adjusted to be consistent with the overall caseload from the Work and Pension Longitudinal Study.  2. The figures are rounded to the nearest hundred.  3. Parliamentary constituencies are those for the Westminster Parliament.   Source:  DWP Information Directorate

Afghanistan

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what his assessment is of progress made towards meeting Afghanistan's millennium development goals.

Hilary Benn: Afghanistan is one of the poorest countries in the world. It is off track to meet all millennium development goals. Years of conflict and insecurity have denied basic services that we take for granted, like health care and schooling; and, one in four Afghan children dies before their fifth birthday. The reconstruction effort in Afghanistan is a long- term initiative which will be reliant upon the commitment of donor agencies for many years yet.
	The Government of Afghanistan recognised in the 2005 millennium development goal report "Vision 2020" that Afghanistan is unlikely to meet any of the millennium development goals by 2015. In light of this it was agreed that Afghanistan should adapt the global timelines and targets to make them meaningful in the Afghan context. The Government therefore extended the time period for achieving the targets to 2020; revised a number of the targets to make them more relevant to Afghanistan and added a ninth goal on enhancing security.
	There has been progress towards these goals since 2001: Presidential and parliamentary elections were held. Six million children have returned to school, over a third of them girls. 13,000 girls' and boys' primary and secondary schools have been built and 15 teacher training centres have been established. 35,000 lives have been saved from routine immunisations which our children are given as a matter of course.
	In 2005-06 the legal economy is estimated to have grown by 14 per cent. 3.5 million refugees have returned home. Major road rehabilitation is connecting major urban centres and Afghanistan with its neighbours. Reliable electricity supply is being restored. The telecommunications sector is growing fast, connecting businesses and people in Afghanistan.

Airports (Terrorism)

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to his Answer of 13 September 2006,  Official Report, columns 2265-6W, on terrorism, when procedures to deal with a terrorist attack were last exercised at  (a) Heathrow,  (b) Gatwick,  (c) Stansted and  (d) London City airport.

Gillian Merron: holding answer 16 October 2006
	Prior to August 2006, I confirm that procedures to deal with a terrorist attack were last exercised at:
	 (a) Heathrow on 7 July 2005 in response to the events in London on that day. Previously, the airport also undertook a large scale, multi agency desk-top exercise on 14 January 2004;
	 (b) Gatwick on 23 November 2005;
	 (c) Stansted on 9 March 2006;
	 (d) London City Airport in November 2005.

Free Travel (Pensioners)

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will review the exclusion of the rush hour from the free travel scheme for pensioners.

Gillian Merron: The statutory minimum entitlement to free local bus travel for pensioners is currently from 9.30 am to 11 pm Monday to Friday, with no peak time restrictions at weekends or on bank holidays. Local authorities already have the discretion to vary their concessionary fare schemes to include peak time bus travel, based on their judgement of local needs and their overall financial priorities. There are no plans at present to change the statutory times.

Land Use

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will place in the Library a copy of the research report commissioned by his Department entitled Representing the Housing Market in Land Use/Transport Models—phase 1.

Gillian Merron: The phase one of Department's research to review the modelling of housing market has been completed and a copy has today been placed in the Libraries of the House.

Railways

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what opportunities he has provided to hon. Members to contribute to consultations on regional planning assessments for the railways;
	(2)  what consultations he has held with passenger transport authorities over regional planning assessment for the railways;
	(3)  what formal opportunities local councils have had to contribute to consultations about regional planning assessments for the railways.

Tom Harris: Typically in the development of the Regional Planning Assessments we have held a series of workshops which have included officers from regional planning and development bodies, local authorities, statutory rail passenger bodies. The Regional Planning Assessments have benefited from this constructive engagement which has been used to shape the findings. Where hon. Members have requested meetings then we have welcomed the opportunity to have these discussions. Where priorities have been identified for further development they will be considered in the Network Rail Route Utilisation Strategies and in the development of franchises and will then be subject to formal consultation.

Hospital Waiting Times

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales pursuant to the answer of 12 October 2006, to question 93595, how many patients were waiting for an NHS operation at a hospital in Wales for longer than 26 weeks in the last three years.

Peter Hain: As at the end of August 2006 there were 61,616 patients waiting for in-patient or day case treatment in Wales.
	Of that total, over 63 per cent. of the patients have been waiting for three months or less.
	Further details of the NHS waiting times for Wales at the end of August 2006 can be found on www.wales.gov.uk/statistics.

Steel Industry

Hywel Francis: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent discussions he has had with senior executives in the steel industry in Wales; and if he will make a statement.

Peter Hain: I have had discussions with both the chief executive of Corus and with the chairman of Tata Steel regarding the proposed acquisition of Corus by Tata, and have sought assurances regarding Corus's commitment to Wales and the status of Corus workers and pensioners in Wales. I remain in close contact with both companies and will closely monitor the progress of the proposed takeover.

Children in Care

Ann Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many, and what proportion of girls in care became pregnant in each local authority area in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Parmjit Dhanda: Information on the proportion of girls in care who became pregnant in each local authority is not collected centrally. However information on the number and proportion of girls in care who are mothers at 31 March 2005 is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Mothers aged 12 and over who are looked after at 31 March 2005( 1,2) 
			  Number and percentage 
			   All females looked after aged 12 and over( 3)  All mothers aged 12 and over( 4)  The percentage of females looked after aged 12 and over and who were mothers 
			  England 13,400 320 2 
			  North East 640 10 2 
			  Shire counties
			 Durham 90 (5)— (5)— 
			 Northumberland 80 (5)— (5)— 
			  Unitary authorities
			 Darlington 20 0 0 
			 Hartlepool 20 0 0 
			 Middlesbrough 40 (5)— (5)— 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 30 (5)— (5)— 
			 Stockton on Tees 40 (5)— (5)— 
			 
			  Metropolitan districts
			 Gateshead 50 0 0 
			 Newcastle Upon Tyne 100 (5)— (5)— 
			 North Tyneside 40 (5)— (5)— 
			 South Tyneside 50 (5)— (5)— 
			 Sunderland 80 (5)— (5)— 
			 
			  North West 2,100 40 2 
			  Shire counties
			 Cheshire 130 (5)— (5)— 
			 Cumbria 120 0 0 
			 Lancashire 280 (5)— (5)— 
			  Unitary authorities
			 Blackburn and Darwen 60 (5)— (5)— 
			 Blackpool 50 (5)— (5)— 
			 Halton 30 0 0 
			 Warrington 40 (5)— (5)— 
			 
			  Metropolitan districts
			 Bolton 60 (5)— (5)— 
			 Bury 50 0 0 
			 Knowsley 60 0 0 
			 Liverpool 190 (5)— (5)— 
			 Manchester 330 10 4 
			 Oldham 80 (5)— (5)— 
			 Rochdale 60 (5)— (5)— 
			 Salford 120 (5)— (5)— 
			 Sefton 80 (5)— (5)— 
			 St. Helens 50 (5)— (5)— 
			 Stockport 70 (5)— (5)— 
			 Tameside 50 (5)— (5)— 
			 Trafford 40 (5)— (5)— 
			 Wigan 80 (5)— (5)— 
			 Wirral 130 (5)— (5)— 
			 
			  Yorkshire and The Humber 1,400 30 2 
			  Shire counties
			 North Yorkshire 90 0 0 
			  Unitary authorities
			 East Riding Yorkshire 60 (5)— (5)— 
			 Kingston Upon Hull 110 (5)— (5)— 
			 N E Lincolnshire 40 (5)— (5)— 
			 North Lincolnshire 40 (5)— (5)— 
			 York 30 0 0 
			 
			  Metropolitan districts
			 Barnsley 50 0 0 
			 Bradford 160 (5)— (5)— 
			 Calderdale 50 (5)— (5)— 
			 Doncaster 90 (5)— (5)— 
			 Kirklees 60 0 0 
			 Leeds 300 (5)— (5)— 
			 Rotherham 80 (5)— (5)— 
			 Sheffield 140 (5)— (5)— 
			 Wakefield 90 (5)— (5)— 
			 
			  East Midlands 770 10 2 
			  Shire counties
			 Derbyshire 100 (5)— (5)— 
			 Leicestershire 90 (5)— (5)— 
			 Lincolnshire 110 (5)— (5)— 
			 Northamptonshire 100 0 0 
			 Nottinghamshire 100 (5)— (5)— 
			  Unitary authorities
			 Derby 80 (5)— (5)— 
			 Leicester 100 (5)— (5)— 
			 Nottingham 90 (5)— (5)— 
			 Rutland (5)— 0 0 
			 
			  West Midlands 1,400 30 2 
			  Shire counties
			 Shropshire 50 0 0 
			 Staffordshire 130 0 0 
			 Warwickshire 100 (5)— (5)— 
			 Worcestershire 90 0 0 
			  Unitary authorities
			 Herefordshire 30 0 0 
			 Stoke-on-Trent 90 (5)— (5)— 
			 Telford and Wrekin 40 (5)— (5)— 
			 
			  Metropolitan districts
			 Birmingham 400 10 3 
			 Coventry 110 (5)— (5)— 
			 Dudley 60 (5)— (5)— 
			 Sandwell 110 (5)— (5)— 
			 Solihull 60 (5)— (5)— 
			 Walsall 80 0 0 
			 Wolverhampton 90 (5)— (5)— 
			 
			  East of England 1,200 20 2 
			  Shire counties
			 Bedfordshire 80 0 0 
			 Cambridgeshire 90 0 0 
			 Essex 260 10 2 
			 Hertfordshire 200 10 4 
			 Norfolk 180 (5)— (5)— 
			 Suffolk 130 (5)— (5)— 
			  Unitary authorities
			 Luton 90 0 0 
			 Peterborough 70 (5)— (5)— 
			 Southend 60 (5)— (5)— 
			 Thurrock 50 0 0 
			 
			  London 3,100 120 4 
			  Inner London 1,400 60 5 
			 Camden 110 (5)— (5)— 
			 City of London (5)— 0 0 
			 Greenwich 130 10 9 
			 Hackney 110 10 7 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 100 (5)— (5)— 
			 Islington 110 (5)— (5)— 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 60 (5)— (5)— 
			 Lambeth 160 10 8 
			 Lewisham 160 10 4 
			 Southwark 190 10 4 
			 Tower Hamlets 100 (5)— (5)— 
			 Wandsworth 70 (5)— (5)— 
			 Westminster 80 (5)— (5)— 
			 
			  Outer London 1,700 60 3 
			 Barking and Dagenham 100 (5)— (5)— 
			 Barnet 100 (5)— (5)— 
			 Bexley 60 (5)— (5)— 
			 Brent 90 (5)— (5)— 
			 Bromley 70 (5)— (5)— 
			 Croydon 200 10 3 
			 Ealing 110 (5)— (5)— 
			 Enfield 70 (5)— (5)— 
			 Haringey 150 (5)— (5)— 
			 Harrow 40 (5)— (5)— 
			 Havering 50 (5)— (5)— 
			 Hillingdon 160 (5)— (5)— 
			 Hounslow 70 (5)— (5)— 
			 Kingston Upon Thames 30 (5)— (5)— 
			 Merton 40 (5)— (5)— 
			 Newham 160 10 6 
			 Redbridge 50 (5)— (5)— 
			 Richmond Upon Thames 30 (5)— (5)— 
			 Sutton 30 (5)— (5)— 
			 Waltham Forest 90 0 0 
			 
			  South East 1,700 20 1 
			  Shire counties
			 Buckinghamshire 60 0 0 
			 East Sussex 100 (5)— (5)— 
			 Hampshire 230 (5)— (5)— 
			 Kent 300 (5)— (5)— 
			 Oxfordshire 120 (5)— (5)— 
			 Surrey 190 (5)— (5)— 
			 West Sussex 170 (5)— (5)— 
			  Unitary authorities
			 Bracknell Forest 20 0 0 
			 Brighton and Hove 90 (5)— (5)— 
			 Isle of Wight 40 (5)— (5)— 
			 Medway Towns 80 0 0 
			 Milton Keynes 40 0 0 
			 Portsmouth 60 (5)— (5)— 
			 Reading 30 (5)— (5)— 
			 Slough 30 (5)— (5)— 
			 Southampton 70 0 0 
			 West Berkshire 30 0 0 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead 10 0 0 
			 Wokingham 10 0 0 
			 
			  South West 1,100 30 2 
			  Shire counties
			 Cornwall 140 (5)— (5)— 
			 Devon 140 (5)— (5)— 
			 Dorset 80 0 0 
			 Gloucestershire 100 (5)— (5)— 
			 Isles of Scilly 0 0 0 
			 Somerset 90 0 0 
			 Wiltshire 60 (5)— (5)— 
			  Unitary authorities
			 Bath and N E Somerset 20 0 0 
			 Bournemouth 40 (5)— (5)— 
			 Bristol 130 (5)— (5)— 
			 North Somerset 30 (5)— (5)— 
			 Plymouth 110 (5)— (5)— 
			 Poole 20 0 0 
			 South Gloucestershire 40 (5)— (5)— 
			 Swindon 50 (5)— (5)— 
			 Torbay 60 (5)— (5)— 
			 (1) Figures exclude children looked after under an agreed series of short term placements.(2) This is the first year of data collection and some authorities have reported difficulties in recording this information.(3) All females in care aged 12 and over.(4) All mothers in care aged 12 and over.(5 )Small numbers suppressed to preserve confidentiality. Normally this will be a number between 1 and 5 inclusive, or a percentage where either the Numerator is between 1 and 5 or the Denominator is between 1 and 10 inclusive.

Children in Care

Ann Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the offending rates of  (a) children and  (b) looked after children were in each local authority area in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Beverley Hughes: The information requested has been placed in the House Libraries.

Higher Education

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many and what percentage of young people in the poorest decile of the population attended  (a) university and  (b) further education in each of the last 30 years.

Bill Rammell: This information is not held centrally.
	 (a) The latest available figures on participation by local areas were published by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) in January 2005 in "Young participation in higher education", which is available from the HEFCE website at: http://www.hefce.ac.uk/pubs/hefce/2005/05_03/. The HEFCE report shows participation rates for young people who enter higher education aged 18 or 19 disaggregated by constituency, local education authority (LEA), Learning and Skills Council area and government office region for the years 1997 to 2000 inclusive.
	Research(1) that compared degree acquisition by age 23 by people whose parents' incomes fell into the highest and lowest income quintiles, for 1981, 1993 and 1999, showed that around 1999, 46 per cent. of children whose parental incomes were in the highest quintile of incomes acquired a degree by age 23 compared with 9 per cent. of children in the lowest quintile. In 1981, the figures were 20 per cent. for the highest quintile and 6 per cent. for the lowest quintile. The research suggests that during the nineties children whose parental incomes were in the highest quintile of incomes were around five times more likely to acquire a degree by age 23 than children in the lowest quintile, up from around three times in the early eighties.
	We believe that more people with the potential to benefit from higher education should have the opportunity to do so. Higher education leads to a range of benefits, not only higher earnings but reduced crime, better health, and wider social capital benefits.
	The new student support arrangements offer a better deal for students from poorer backgrounds. We have reintroduced grants for those from low income households; we have ended up front fees; and we have introduced the Office for Fair Access so that universities have agreements on outreach and funding help that they will offer poorer students. £300 million is being offered in bursaries and other financial support. Alongside this, the Government and its partners support the Aimhigher programme, which enables partnerships of schools, colleges and universities to design and deliver a range of aspiration and attainment raising activities to enable young people from backgrounds currently under-represented in higher education to be able and willing to go on to HE.
	We are also determined to improve educational attainment so that more people are in a position to benefit from HE. Our proposals in the Schools White Paper, which is now the basis for The Education and Inspections Bill 2006, will help ensure that every young person has the opportunity to reach their potential, including, where appropriate, university education.
	 (b) The following table gives evidence from the Youth Cohort Study (YCS) on the proportion of young people in full-time education at age 16 by parental occupation (NS-SEC) for 16-year-olds in 2000, 2002 and 2004. Young people whose parents work in routine and other/not classified occupations are most likely to be in the poorest income groups of the population—13 per cent. and 12 per cent. of the 2004 cohort were in these NS-SEC groups respectively.
	(1) Blanden, J. and Machin, S., 'Educational inequality and the expansion of UK higher education', Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Special Issue on the Economics of Education, 51 (2) pp. 230-249 (2004).
	
		
			  Percentage whose main activity is full-time education at age 16 by NS- SEC 
			   2000  2002  2004 
			 Higher professional 86 87 85 
			 Lower professional 79 78 79 
			 Intermediate 72 69 71 
			 Lower supervisory 61 58 61 
			 Routine 56 59 57 
			 Other/not classified(2) 62 62 63 
			 (2 )Includes many respondents for whom neither parent had an occupation. Source:Youth Cohort Study cohorts 10-12, sweep 1

Islamist Extremists (Monitoring)

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what advice he has issued to universities on monitoring the activities of Islamist extremists in universities.

Bill Rammell: holding answer 20 October 2006
	We have been consulting within Government; with Universities UK and with representatives from individual institutions to develop appropriate advice to universities on ways in which they can address violent extremism through their work to promote good campus relations. This follows UUK guidance last year entitled, Promoting Good Campus Relations. The consultation is continuing and we intend to issue the guidance later this year.

School Meals

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assistance his Department has made available to Lancashire county council to enable the introduction of guidelines on meals for pupils.

Parmjit Dhanda: The Government are determined to transform the quality of food in schools and supports the work local authorities and schools are doing to raise the nutritional standards of school meals.
	Lancashire county council received £665,975 from the Targeted School Meals Grant for 2005-06 and £1,115,778 for 2006-07 to improve school food. In addition, in each of those years, schools were awarded a lump sum of £1,070 per primary school and £1,500 per secondary school, with an additional amount per pupil. The per pupil amount for PRUs and all schools except nursery schools is 50p; for nursery schools it is 50p for half of FTE pupils, to reflect the fact that fewer pupils in nursery schools take school meals.
	In addition to financial support, the School Food Trust, as our key delivery partner on the improvement of school food, has produced guidance for schools and authorities on the new standards and is working with local authorities to help them implement them.

Afghanistan

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of UK-led poppy eradication schemes in southern Afghanistan.

Margaret Beckett: Eradication policy and implementation is the responsibility of the Afghan Government. The UK provides support to the planning, monitoring and targeting work of the Afghan eradication forces. The Afghan Government also instructs Governors on how to eradicate poppy in their provinces. 2006 saw an increase in eradication, which contributed to reductions in opium poppy cultivation in some provinces. According to the 2006 UN Office of Drugs and Crime Afghan Opium Survey summary, 15,300 hectares of poppy were eradicated across Afghanistan, including 7,830 hectares in the south. Eradication on its own will not solve the problem. It is a useful deterrent where there is access to legal livelihoods but needs to be balanced with measures to interdict drugs; bring criminals to justice; build institutions; and encourage development of rural communities to provide alternatives for poppy farmers. The UK is spending £270 million over a three-year period on supporting the Government of Afghanistan's National Drug Control Strategy.

Burma

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations she has received about the activities of the Burmese army in Karen State; and if she will make a statement.

Ian McCartney: We have received recent representations from hon. Members and Peers as well as members of the public about the Burmese army's offensive in Karen State.
	I raised our concerns about human rights issues in Burma, including the attacks in Karen State, when I called in the Burmese ambassador on 15 June, in my letter to the Burmese Foreign Minister on 5 July and I raised human rights issues most recently with AS BAN ambassadors, including the Burmese ambassador, on 18 September.
	The EU issued a statement on 3 May calling on the Burmese Government to cease its attacks in Karen State. The statement was sent to the Burmese Ministries of Information and Foreign Affairs. The statement can be found at: http://www.eu2006.at/en/News/CFSP_Statements/May/(0305Myanmar.html?null
	On 29 September, the United Nations Security Council discussed Burma in a private meeting. The UK's Permanent Representative in New York raised the situation in Karen State at that meeting.

European Union

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to her statements in Prospects for the European Union in 2006 (Cm 6896), what discussions she and colleagues have held with the Finnish presidency on  (a) the place of freedom, security and justice in the treaties,  (b) the use of passarelle clauses and  (c) changes to the decision-making procedures in this policy area; what assessment she has made of the likelihood of the Finnish Government bringing forward proposals in this area during their presidency; and if she will make a statement.

Margaret Beckett: There have been a number of discussions with the Finnish presidency, both formal and informal, of EU co-operation in the field of Justice and Home Affairs (JHA). Among the issues being discussed is the proposed use of the Article 42 Treaty on European Union (TEU) passerelle clause, which provides for the Council to decide, under unanimity, to transfer elements of the field of JHA from the third pillar (TEU) to the first pillar (Treaty on European Community). One consequence of the use of the passerelle could be the application of qualified majority voting to some parts of EU police and judicial co-operation.
	The Commission proposed the use of the passerelle in its Communication 'Implementing the Hague Programme: the Way Forward', and the Finnish Government are taking forward discussion of the proposal during their presidency. Most recently, the passerelle was discussed by EU Interior and Justice Ministries at the JHA Informal Council in Tampere on 20-22 September, and the JHA Council of 5-6 October. A broad exchange of views took place. It is as yet unclear whether the Finnish presidency will bring forward formal proposals in this area during their presidency. We will keep Parliament informed of developments in this area.

European Union

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to her statement in Prospects for the European Union in 2006 (Cm 6896), in what ways the common agricultural policy was simplified  (a) during the UK presidency and  (b) as a result of decisions made during the UK presidency; what changes to the common fisheries policy have been made in response to the UK's views; and if she will make a statement.

Margaret Beckett: The UK was instrumental in getting agreement at the December 2006 Agriculture Council for the Commission's communication on the simplification and better regulation for the common agricultural policy. It sets out a strategy for reducing administrative burdens in the agriculture sector. Agreement was reached on the simplification objective and the Commission was asked to produce an action plan with options to measure administrative burdens and targets for reduction by the end of 2006. The draft action plan was discussed at an international conference of stakeholders on 3 and 4 October.
	Progress continues to be made on the simplification of the common fisheries policy. The Commission, in response to UK concerns, has recently produced a strategy paper giving an early indication of their thinking on the appropriate catch limits and related measures for 2007. Additionally, they have asked the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea to consider providing scientific input much earlier in the process. We welcome these developments but look forward to seeing further streamlining of arrangements in the future.

Gibraltar

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if she will compensate Gibraltarian workers who continued to pay into the Gibraltar Social Insurance Fund after 1969 on the same terms as Spanish workers who stopped paying into the fund in 1969.

Geoff Hoon: The Trilateral Agreement reached in Cordoba on 18 September provides a settlement to the long running issue of pensions paid to Spanish workers affected by the 1969 border closure. The Government already pays pensions to this group under a 1996 agreement. As part of the Cordoba settlement the Government will offer a lump sum payment to these pensioners as an incentive for them to leave the Gibraltar Social Insurance Fund (GSIF). The Government will then make uprated payments to those who leave the GSIF.
	Future payments to Gibraltarian pensioners are a matter for the Government of Gibraltar, who pay their current pensions. To this end, the Chief Minister has already announced that the Government will uprate the pensions of all those in the GSIF from April 2007.

Hampton Review

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what input  (a) her Department and  (b) its (i) agencies and (ii) non-departmental public bodies had into the Hampton Review and its report, Reducing Administrative Burdens: Effective Inspection and Enforcement.

Margaret Beckett: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 9 October 2006,  Official Report, column 280W by my right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Stephen Timms.

International Arms Embargo

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of progress towards the implementation of the international arms embargo provided for in UN Security Council Resolution 1701.

Margaret Beckett: The UK remains committed to the full implementation of all elements of UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1701. This resolution included a call on the Government of Lebanon to secure its borders and other entry points to prevent unauthorised entry of arms; and that all states should take measures to prevent the supply to Lebanon of arms by their nationals or from their territory, other than those authorised by the Government of Lebanon or UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).
	In response to Resolution 1701 the Council of the EU on 15 September adopted a Common Position to give effect to the arms embargo within the EU. We have urged other countries to take comparable measures. The UN Secretary-General has reported that he has received assurances from the Syrian President that Syria will undertake all necessary measures to implement this requirement; and that Syria is willing to assist Lebanon in setting up an effective interdiction regime, and where possible to establish joint border patrols with the Lebanese authorities. Meanwhile, the Lebanese armed forces have advised the UN that some 8,000 Lebanese troops have been deployed along Lebanon's land border with Syria.
	The UK and EU partners are examining what assistance we might provide to the Government of Lebanon in its efforts to secure its borders. Germany has sent a team of experts to Lebanon to advise on possible measures. In September, the Government of Lebanon asked the UN for assistance in securing Lebanon's maritime border. Several countries, including the UK with HMS York, have contributed naval assets to enable an interim naval task force to be deployed. A German naval deployment is currently replacing this interim arrangement.

Lebanon

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment she has made of ability of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon to help civilians threatened by the current hostilities within its area of operations.

Margaret Beckett: Under its previous mandate UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) was limited in terms of the assistance it could provide to civilians. UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1701 of 11 August explicitly mandates UNIFIL for humanitarian activities. The ceasefire which followed UNSCR 1701 has largely held. Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) have withdrawn from Lebanon except from the general area of Ghajar. The Lebanese armed forces (LAP) and UNIFIL have deployed along the Blue Line and recently met with the IDF to finalise the IDF withdrawal from the area of Ghajar. We fully support UNIFIL's expanded role and reinforced mandate. The force is making, and will continue to make, a significant contribution to the humanitarian effort in southern Lebanon.
	As the UN Secretary-General said in his report on the implementation of UNSCR 1701 on 18 August:
	"A reinforced UNIFIL, as called for in paragraph 11 of resolution 1701 (2006), is a vital part of the package to enable the full deployment of the LAP to the south and, in parallel, the full withdrawal of the Israeli forces from Lebanon; monitor compliance with the cessation of hostilities; help ensure humanitarian access to civilian populations and the voluntary and safe return of displaced persons; and establish conditions conducive to concluding a permanent ceasefire agreement and help to implement it. In meeting those and related objectives outlined in resolution 1701 (2006), UNIFIL would be making an essential contribution to enable the Government of Lebanon to extend its authority over all of its territory."
	Details of UNIFIL's reinforced mandate is available on the UN website at: http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/missions/unifil/.

North Korea

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment has been made of stocks of separated plutonium in the Democratic People's Republic of North Korea; and if she will make a statement.

Margaret Beckett: Following the answer my hon. Friend the Minister for the Middle East (Dr. Howells) gave to the hon. Member for Sheffield, Hallam (Mr. Clegg) on 27 February 2006,  Official Report, column 310W, our assessment remains the same: That the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) claims to have reprocessed the 8,000 spent fuel rods removed from the 25 megawatt reactor at Yongbyon in 1994. If these claims are true, the DPRK could have extracted sufficient plutonium for up to five nuclear warheads from this spent fuel.
	We continue to believe the DPRK is pursuing efforts towards production of highly enriched uranium (HEU), based on centrifuge enrichment technology which the Pakistani scientist AQ Khan has admitted supplying to the DPRK. But we have no information on how successfully these attempts to produce HEU have been.

Family Courts

John Mann: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what plans she has to encourage the use of solicitor advocates in children's and family courts.

Harriet Harman: holding answer 19 October 2006
	In the family courts, children involved in public law proceedings (care/supervision) are almost always represented by a CAFCASS guardian and a solicitor. In private law proceedings (contact/residence) the children involved are not represented by a solicitor/guardian unless Rule 9.5 of the Family Proceedings Rules 1991 is applied, which makes the child party to proceedings. In all other family proceedings there is an option of legal aid to be granted to the parties involved to be represented.
	We are currently consulting on the need for solicitors to attend all section 8 Children Act 1989 hearings in cases where there is separate representation under Rule 9.5 and the closing date is the 8 December 2006.

Judicial Staff

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many Justices of the Peace sit in England and Wales; and how many there were in 1998.

Harriet Harman: The number of magistrates in post was; 28,865 at the year ending 31 March 2006. The number of magistrates in post was; 30,260 at the year ending 31 December 1998.

Child Health

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the  (a) levels of obesity and  (b) general health of schoolchildren in Northern Ireland in the last three years.

Paul Goggins: The height and weight of children are recorded as part of the Primary One health appraisal conducted by the school nurse. Levels of obesity can be calculated from this information, which is recorded in the child health system for Northern Ireland. The following table sets out the levels of obesity among children aged four and a half to five and a half for the last three years for which data is available.
	
		
			  Children aged four and a half to five and a half years classified as obese 
			   Percentage 
			 2002-03 5.6 
			 2003-04 5.7 
			 2004-05 5.5 
			  Source:Child Health System (NI) 
		
	
	Results from the 2005 Health and Social Well-Being Survey, which collected height and weight measurements of all respondents aged two and over, will be available later this year and will provide a more comprehensive assessment of obesity levels in children.
	Health visitors and school nurses assess the general health and development of children as part of the Child Health Surveillance programme. The surveillance programme includes a general health assessment in the first year of primary school and in the first year of post-primary school, as well as screening tests and targeted reviews.
	The Young Persons Behaviour and Attitudes (YBAS) survey provides an overview of children's health and well-being and of health determinants, such as diet, physical activity, smoking and alcohol consumption. The last YBAS survey, which involved almost 7,000 young people aged 11 to 16 living in Northern Ireland, was conducted in 2003 and is scheduled to be repeated in 2007. The 2003 YBAS survey reported that over 88 per cent. of children considered themselves to be quite healthy or very healthy with just under 12 per cent. considering themselves to be not very healthy. 16 per cent. of schoolchildren declared that they had either a long-standing illness or disability that had troubled them for a period of time or was likely to affect them in the future.

Hospital Waiting Times

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many patients were waiting more than six months for an NHS in-patient operation in each month since November 2005 at a hospital in Northern Ireland.

Paul Goggins: Official waiting lists are produced on a quarterly basis. Information on the number of patients waiting more than six months for inpatient treatment in Northern Ireland hospitals is provided in the following table for the quarters ending December 2005, March 2006 and June 2006.
	
		
			  Quarter ending  Number of patients waiting six months and over 
			 December 2005 10,403 
			 March 2006 6,580 
			 June 2006 5,144 
			  Source: Departmental Information return CH1 
		
	
	There is a ministerial commitment that by March 2007 no one will have to wait more than six months for inpatient or day case treatment.

Police Service of Northern Ireland

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate has been made of the number of  (a) serving and  (b) retired police officers in Northern Ireland who claim to have post traumatic stress disorder.

Paul Goggins: The Police Service for Northern Ireland has advised that 5,500 PSNI officers were reported to have joined a Post Traumatic Stress Disorder class action of which 3,500 are now retired.

Racially Motivated Crime

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people have been the victim of racially-motivated attacks in Northern Ireland in each of the last three years, broken down by  (a) district command unit and  (b) council district.

Paul Goggins: The answer to this question is available in the Police Service of Northern Ireland Statistical Report 1 April 2005 to 31 March 2006 and I have arranged for a copy of this report to be placed in the Library.
	Statistics are available for the last two financial years (2004-05 and 2005-06) only as the process for recording such incidents and crimes changed in April 2004. Crime figures produced prior to this date were not collated in the same manner and are therefore not comparable with these statistics.

Schools

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many pupils in Northern Ireland have been found to be in the possession of  (a) a weapon and  (b) drugs on school premises in each of the last three years.

Maria Eagle: The Department of Education does not collect the information requested.
	From the 2002-03 school year, statistics on the reasons for suspension have been gathered annually from each education and library board and relate to the number of individual suspensions, not to the number of pupils suspended. Specific data on drugs is not collected, but statistics are available for the number of suspensions from schools for possessing, using or dealing in illegal drugs or solvents on school premises. In 2002-03, data on substance abuse was combined with alcohol abuse, but in 2003-04 substance abuse was identified separately. Tables one and two detail the number of suspensions for substance or alcohol abuse from 2002-03 to 2004-05, the latest school year for which figures are available.
	
		
			  Table 1: Suspensions 
			   Substance or alcohol abuse 
			 2002-03 426 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Suspensions 
			   Substance abuse 
			 2003-04 421 
			 2004-05 286 
		
	
	The reasons for expulsions have been collected since the 2003-04 school year. Again, the available statistics relate to expulsions for possessing, using or dealing in illegal drugs or solvents on school premises. In 2003-04 data on substance abuse was combined with data on alcohol abuse but in 2004-05 substance abuse was identified separately. Tables three and four detail the number of pupils expelled for substance or alcohol abuse in the 2003-04 and 2004-05 school years:
	
		
			  Table 3: Expulsions 
			   Substance or alcohol abuse 
			 2003-04 14 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 4: Expulsions 
			   Substance abuse 
			 2004-05 10 
		
	
	Notifications from schools do not identity carrying an offensive weapon as a specific reason for suspension or expulsion.

Schools

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many teachers in Northern Ireland have been the victims of  (a) assault and  (b) sexual assault in schools in Northern Ireland in each of the last three years.

Maria Eagle: The Department of Education does not collect the requested information.
	However, from the 2002-03 school year, statistics on the reasons for pupil suspensions have been gathered annually from each education and library board. The following table illustrates the number of pupil suspensions for physical attacks on staff for the period 2002-03 to 2004-05:
	
		
			  Number of suspensions( 1)  for physical attack on staff by year 
			   Number 
			 2002-03 365 
			 2004-05 320 
			 2004-05 262 
			 (1 )Due to a change in data collection, figures from 2004-05 are not directly comparable with those figures from previous years. 
		
	
	It should be noted that these figures relate to the number of individual suspensions and not to the number of pupils suspended.
	Information on the number of sexual assaults by pupils on staff is not collected as part of the statistical return.
	Statistics are not yet available for the 2005-06 school year.
	These figures are available on the Department's website at http://www.deni.gov.uk/index/21-pupils_parents-pg/pupils_parents-suspensions_and_expulsions_pg.htm.

Social Housing

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the extent to which a Catholic and a Protestant in equal need of social housing have an equal chance of getting a house; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: The assessment of need for social housing is the same regardless of the religion of an applicant. The time it takes to allocate a house is dependant on a number of factors including level of need, supply, geographic mobility and any special requirements. Clearly in areas of high demand it will take longer to allocate a house than it would in an area of low demand.
	Robust methodologies are in place to determine additional social housing requirements and strenuous efforts are being made to provide applicants with accommodation either in their area of choice or nearby.

Social Homebuy Scheme

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what the budget is for the Social Homebuy scheme in each year of its budgeted operation;
	(2)  how much the Government have spent on the Social Homebuy scheme.

Yvette Cooper: The discount available to housing association tenants under Social HomeBuy is funded by grant from the Housing Corporation. £15 million of funding has been allocated by the Housing Corporation for schemes in 2006 to 2008. Additional funding will be made available pending the outcome of the further bidding round being launched on 30 October.
	No additional funding has been provided to local authorities.

Link System (Post Offices)

Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions he has had with the banking sector on opening the Link system to post offices; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Post Office Ltd. have regular discussions with both Link and the leading banks about access to the Link system through the post office network. My officials have also had discussions with Link. However, these are commercial matters for Post Office Ltd. and I have asked Alan Cook to write directly to you with an update on how the discussions are progressing.

Windfarms

Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps his Department is taking to monitor the performance of windfarms.

Malcolm Wicks: The DTI Offshore Wind Capital Grants scheme requires that grant holders submit annual reports for three years following the commissioning of the wind farm. These reports contain a range of performance and operational data. Copies of these reports can be found on the DTI website on the publications pages at:
	Scroby Sands Annual Report—December 2005 http://www.dti.gov.uk/files/file32785.pdf
	North Hoyle Annual Report—June 2005 Part 1 http://www.dti.gov.uk/files/file32843.pdf
	North Hoyle Annual Report—June 2005 Part 2 http://www.dti.gov.uk/files/file32844.pdf
	The department does not monitor performance for individual onshore windfarms. However the renewables sector as a whole is monitored and details can be found on the Renewable Energy Statistics (Restats) database at:
	http://www.restats.org.uk/

Motoring

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many motorists were disqualified from driving in each of the last 10 years, broken down by region;
	(2)  how many motorists were  (a) caught and  (b) prosecuted for driving while disqualified in each of the last 10 years.

Vernon Coaker: Decisions as to the charging and prosecution of those detected apparently driving while disqualified are matters for the police and C.P.S and data are not recorded centrally.
	Data on the numbers of those disqualified and proceeded against for driving while disqualified from driving is set out in the following tables.
	2005 data will be available early in 2007.
	
		
			  Table A: Disqualifications( 1)  from driving imposed at all courts, by Government Office Regions, England and Wales, 1995 to 2004 
			  Government Office Regions  1995  1996  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004 
			 North East 6,600 6,600 6,900 7,200 8,000 7,900 8,300 8,700 9,000 9,100 
			 North West 22,200 21,600 21,600 21,400 21,000 20,700 22,800 25,900 26,900 25,200 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 13,900 15,500 15,500 14,700 14,600 13,900 13,400 13,700 14,600 15,700 
			 East Midlands 10,800 11,200 12,600 11,900 12,900 12,100 11,900 12,000 14,800 14,200 
			 West Midlands 16,700 17,600 18,700 18,700 17,300 18,400 18,700 20,500 21,900 23,700 
			 East 13,700 14,400 15,100 15,200 15,000 14,100 16,400 18,400 19,700 17,500 
			 London 29,200 26,300 26,100 23,100 21,800 20,400 21,500 25,300 26,900 30,300 
			 South East 20,600 20,700 21,200 22,200 22,000 21,900 24,900 28,300 23,000 23,300 
			 South West 12,900 13,100 13,600 13,500 13,900 13,700 14,700 15,700 17,400 15,400 
			 Wales 8,600 9,200 10,000 10,500 9,500 10,200 12,900 15,000 16,600 16,000 
			 Total England and Wales 155,200 156,200 161,300 158,400 156,000 153,300 165,500 183,500 190,800 190,400 
			 (1 )Excludes persons disqualified under s 35 of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988 (penalty points system). 
		
	
	
		
			  Table B: Persons disqualified( 1)  at all courts under section 35 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 (penalty points system), England and Wales, 1995 to 2004 
			  Number of persons 
			   1995  1996  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004 
			 Total England and Wales 31,900 31,400 31,100 23,900 34,200 33,600 30,100 30,500 33,300 30,900 
			 (1 )Disqualifications under section 35 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 (penalty points system).   Note: Data available at national (England and Wales) level only. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table C: Proceedings at magistrates courts for the offence of driving while disqualified( 1) , England and Wales, 1995 to 2004 
			  Number of offences 
			  1995 1996  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004 
			 Total proceedings 53,000 49,800 48,900 48,200 50,000 49,000 51,400 55,600 63,400 59,500 
			 (1 )Offences under the Road Traffic Act 1988 s. 103(1).   Note: Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

Prisons

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the future of chaplaincy services in prisons.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Multi faith chaplaincy teams make a significant and valuable contribution to prison life, providing a wide range of expertise and support including providing religious services and education, courses on restorative justice, bereavement and family issues, and pastoral care—of prisoners and staff. Governors, and prison staff value the commitment of chaplaincy colleagues as they work together to help provide a holistic approach to care in our prisons. We should be proud of the work that Chaplaincy is taking forward; there are no plans to diminish this role or contribution.

Wildlife Crime

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were  (a) prosecuted and  (b) imprisoned for wildlife crimes in each of the last 20 years, broken down by police authority area and in descending order.

Tony McNulty: Data from the Court Proceedings Database held by the Office for Criminal Justice for the number of people who were  (a) prosecuted and  (b) imprisoned for wildlife crimes in each of the last 20 years, broken down by police authority area and in descending order can be found in the following tables.
	
		
			  Number of persons proceeded against at magistrates courts, for offences relating to wildlife crime, by police force area, England and Wales, 1984 to 2004( 1, )( 2, 3) 
			  Force  1984  1985  1986  1987  1988  1989  1990  1991  1992  1993  1995 
			 Lancashire 296 271 523 749 473 478 520 439 350 255 203 
			 North Yorkshire 481 363 365 357 307 324 198 434 302 245 156 
			 Metropolitan Police 143 269 163 179 190 147 223 206 536 464 245 
			 West Yorkshire 197 197 163 152 165 232 180 192 239 213 161 
			 Northumbria 112 155 202 189 158 188 175 171 174 192 156 
			 Greater Manchester 143 130 116 136 136 148 187 138 178 137 89 
			 South Wales 243 192 184 195 195 130 106 97 176 125 91 
			 North Wales 198 139 130 171 176 152 101 125 112 99 125 
			 West Midlands 151 145 123 105 115 135 202 197 174 116 70 
			 Cumbria 292 269 309 231 196 127 130 100 104 62 57 
			 Avon and Somerset 173 202 161 147 143 121 143 144 158 128 82 
			 Hampshire 180 136 134 156 121 132 182 126 156 149 79 
			 Devon and Cornwall 125 91 85 77 101 116 101 136 197 104 117 
			 Derbyshire 209 180 194 183 161 155 107 75 81 72 35 
			 South Yorkshire 138 207 155 125 144 158 139 105 115 106 50 
			 Staffordshire 154 147 144 137 99 224 184 151 123 136 120 
			 Lincolnshire 127 100 84 96 130 150 180 89 80 82 22 
			 West Mercia 174 131 139 134 152 186 121 118 116 97 80 
			 Essex 132 114 90 105 102 140 196 142 117 100 57 
			 Nottinghamshire 135 120 132 120 106 158 339 202 87 85 43 
			 Humberside 226 125 138 126 132 121 136 83 86 66 57 
			 Sussex 106 99 99 76 80 136 105 115 103 115 48 
			 Durham 179 196 168 108 111 126 124 167 115 97 57 
			 Thames Valley 86 47 86 91 92 91 168 220 126 59 62 
			 Cleveland 94 95 99 111 180 154 230 100 142 82 48 
			 Gwent 135 117 113 91 112 77 94 136 150 68 55 
			 Dyfed-Powys 74 76 98 94 66 99 149 89 82 76 72 
			 Cheshire 102 105 145 156 131 161 108 78 86 63 38 
			 Merseyside 72 94 58 65 51 70 98 122 170 83 62 
			 Cambridgeshire 85 75 104 156 86 104 99 87 81 115 68 
			 Leicestershire 97 64 81 124 109 118 147 101 69 71 36 
			 Wiltshire 71 50 70 67 78 72 63 84 51 42 55 
			 Gloucestershire 48 60 56 78 63 66 81 115 113 73 41 
			 Suffolk 48 65 53 55 34 47 75 59 56 68 57 
			 Kent 133 87 99 67 57 48 47 37 18 46 34 
			 Norfolk 73 90 73 68 40 25 33 36 37 26 20 
			 Northamptonshire 46 31 64 60 50 77 76 68 49 41 17 
			 Hertfordshire 73 42 63 67 52 77 35 44 64 31 27 
			 Surrey 62 36 45 37 37 42 50 62 55 48 32 
			 Dorset 76 39 33 35 34 27 33 28 32 32 35 
			 Bedfordshire 35 48 26 37 46 52 24 36 63 47 35 
			 Warwickshire 49 36 39 40 43 28 36 14 20 15 22 
			 City of London 0 1 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 
			 Total 5,773 5,236 5,409 5,553 5,054 5,419 5,726 5,268 5,343 4,331 3,017 
		
	
	
		
			  Force  1996  1997  1998  1999  2000( 4)  2001  2002  2003  2004  Total 
			 Lancashire 254 248 230 242 223 166 123 114 133 6,290 
			 North Yorkshire 109 159 197 215 118 78 57 105 94 4,664 
			 Metropolitan Police 294 195 135 252 162 213 216 167 154 4,553 
			 West Yorkshire 178 197 234 216 214 147 151 154 174 3,756 
			 Northumbria 127 150 148 111 94 95 105 111 170 2,983 
			 Greater Manchester 86 85 84 105 115 94 147 205 261 2,720 
			 South Wales 70 74 93 75 88 73 58 62 62 2,389 
			 North Wales 126 125 133 100 79 80 92 61 48 2,372 
			 West Midlands 84 60 68 60 86 94 99 168 105 2,357 
			 Cumbria 58 48 53 67 32 31 29 70 91 2,356 
			 Avon and Somerset 96 79 74 79 111 105 82 59 61 2,348 
			 Hampshire 82 111 105 121 91 95 58 66 68 2,348 
			 Devon and Cornwall 105 114 155 130 90 108 114 98 88 2,252 
			 Derbyshire 41 55 87 76 71 67 96 90 108 2,143 
			 South Yorkshire 53 80 91 84 90 64 74 63 80 2,121 
			 Staffordshire 71 69 58 36 (4)— 58 31 39 50 2,031 
			 Lincolnshire 81 78 85 116 129 83 131 90 84 2,017 
			 West Mercia 65 68 83 48 63 71 47 57 33 1,983 
			 Essex 61 77 63 72 103 59 80 55 75 1,940 
			 Nottinghamshire 45 44 37 57 52 43 35 37 46 1,923 
			 Humberside 53 35 64 104 95 72 49 53 34 1,855 
			 Sussex 76 120 116 96 79 83 72 70 49 1,843 
			 Durham 80 44 29 44 62 38 36 36 21 1,838 
			 Thames Valley 43 58 57 67 139 73 71 86 69 1,791 
			 Cleveland 44 26 62 40 31 57 55 43 42 1,735 
			 Gwent 61 51 87 64 62 59 77 61 55 1,725 
			 Dyfed-Powys 56 72 67 74 69 50 65 54 50 1,532 
			 Cheshire 61 51 35 49 39 29 28 25 20 1,510 
			 Merseyside 43 43 53 38 100 75 32 36 79 1,444 
			 Cambridgeshire 34 54 67 44 31 20 30 27 36 1,403 
			 Leicestershire 17 26 32 30 27 33 31 37 30 1,280 
			 Wiltshire 37 36 56 71 38 43 36 51 57 1,128 
			 Gloucestershire 51 49 41 41 31 32 31 24 30 1,124 
			 Suffolk 73 44 39 40 50 35 82 41 59 1,080 
			 Kent 36 12 39 21 12 54 72 63 95 1,077 
			 Norfolk 28 47 56 48 45 48 33 86 58 970 
			 Northamptonshire 14 7 16 19 65 50 27 36 32 845 
			 Hertfordshire 32 23 40 18 18 17 23 32 26 804 
			 Surrey 33 29 32 20 45 25 29 17 29 765 
			 Dorset 19 31 33 39 28 38 23 26 21 662 
			 Bedfordshire 25 29 19 40 21 16 21 15 14 649 
			 Warwickshire 115 14 13 7 17 31 7 31 20 597 
			 City of London 0 0 2 0 0 2 0 0 0 10 
			 Total 3,117 3,017 3,268 3,276 3,115 2,804 2,755 2,821 2,911 83,213 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of persons proceeded against at magistrates courts of whom were sentenced to immediate custody, for offences relating to wildlife crime, by police force area, England and Wales, 1984 to 2004( 1, 2, 3) 
			  Force  1984  1985  1986  1987  1988  1989  1990  1991  1992  1993 
			 Lancashire 1 0 1 2 0 2 0 0 1 1 
			 North Yorkshire 0 5 1 0 0 2 0 4 0 0 
			 Metropolitan Police 1 5 3 3 12 8 2 3 8 4 
			 West Yorkshire 2 2 1 0 2 6 0 2 0 3 
			 Northumbria 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 
			 Greater Manchester 5 0 3 3 1 1 2 1 2 0 
			 South Wales 1 1 1 0 1 1 0 2 8 0 
			 North Wales 0 2 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 1 
			 West Midlands 0 1 3 2 4 0 4 0 3 2 
			 Cumbria 0 3 0 1 2 2 0 1 0 2 
			 Avon and Somerset 0 4 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 
			 Hampshire 0 2 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 3 
			 Devon and Cornwall 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Derbyshire 0 0 0 0 1 0 4 0 0 2 
			 South Yorkshire 1 0 0 2 18 1 1 2 2 0 
			 Staffordshire 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 3 
			 Lincolnshire 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 
			 West Mercia 0 0 0 0 0 1 4 2 1 1 
			 Essex 1 0 5 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Nottinghamshire 0 1 1 0 1 0 7 0 0 1 
			 Humberside 0 0 0 6 0 1 0 1 1 4 
			 Sussex 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 1 1 
			 Durham 0 2 3 3 2 0 1 1 0 1 
			 Thames Valley 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 
			 Cleveland 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Gwent 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 
			 Dyfed-Powys 1 1 1 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 
			 Cheshire 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 
			 Merseyside 0 0 1 3 1 2 0 0 1 1 
			 Cambridgeshire 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 
			 Leicestershire 0 0 0 0 4 1 2 1 0 4 
			 Wiltshire 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 
			 Gloucestershire 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Suffolk 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 
			 Kent 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Norfolk 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 
			 Northamptonshire 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 4 
			 Hertfordshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Surrey 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Dorset 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Bedfordshire 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 
			 Warwickshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 City of London 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Total 18 37 31 29 58 35 36 24 35 41 
		
	
	
		
			  Force  1995  1996  1997  1998  1999  2000( (4),)  2001  2002  2003  2004 
			 Lancashire 0 2 4 3 2 0 3 1 0 0 
			 North Yorkshire 0 1 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 2 
			 Metropolitan Police 9 2 7 3 3 6 1 5 2 5 
			 West Yorkshire 0 1 2 2 3 4 3 2 2 2 
			 Northumbria 0 2 1 2 3 2 4 2 0 2 
			 Greater Manchester 3 1 2 7 4 2 5 2 4 2 
			 South Wales 0 0 2 2 1 2 0 1 0 0 
			 North Wales 1 0 3 0 0 2 0 0 5 0 
			 West Midlands 1 0 0 4 2 5 5 9 5 5 
			 Cumbria 4 1 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 
			 Avon and Somerset 1 1 2 2 1 0 2 1 1 1 
			 Hampshire 0 0 0 0 3 2 0 0 0 0 
			 Devon and Cornwall 1 1 1 1 1 3 3 1 1 2 
			 Derbyshire 1 1 1 6 0 1 3 0 3 1 
			 South Yorkshire 4 1 3 3 5 3 5 6 2 2 
			 Staffordshire 2 1 1 1 2 (4)— 0 2 2 0 
			 Lincolnshire 0 0 1 1 4 3 1 4 2 1 
			 West Mercia 2 0 2 2 1 2 0 4 4 3 
			 Essex 0 1 0 2 4 0 3 4 6 0 
			 Nottinghamshire 0 2 1 4 0 0 2 6 0 3 
			 Humberside 2 0 1 3 3 1 2 0 1 1 
			 Sussex 3 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 
			 Durham 0 1 6 2 2 0 0 0 1 0 
			 Thames Valley 1 0 0 1 3 1 1 3 0 0 
			 Cleveland 1 1 0 0 4 0 1 0 0 1 
			 Gwent 0 0 0 0 2 3 0 0 2 1 
			 Dyfed-Powys 0 2 1 0 1 0 4 0 3 2 
			 Cheshire 1 1 1 1 3 5 1 0 1 0 
			 Merseyside 0 1 1 0 2 0 2 2 3 2 
			 Cambridgeshire 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 
			 Leicestershire 1 0 1 0 1 4 0 2 1 0 
			 Wiltshire 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 
			 Gloucestershire 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 
			 Suffolk 0 0 1 2 0 5 2 0 1 2 
			 Kent 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 6 
			 Norfolk 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 
			 Northamptonshire 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 2 0 1 
			 Hertfordshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Surrey 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 3 0 
			 Dorset 0 1 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 
			 Bedfordshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 
			 Warwickshire 1 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 City of London 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Total 39 33 50 59 64 62 61 62 58 49 
			 (1) These data are provided on the principal offence basis.  (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.(3) Wildlife crimes includes the following: Cruelty to animals. Offences in relation to dogs. Night poaching. Day poaching. Unlawful possession of game, etc. Other offences against Game Law. Wild Birds Protection Acts.  (4) Staffordshire police force were only able to submit sample data for persons proceeded against and convicted in the magistrates' courts for the year 2000. Although sufficient to estimate higher orders of data, these data are not robust enough at a detailed level and have been excluded from the table.   Source:  RDS Office for Criminal Justice Reform

Tax Credits

David Marshall: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people are in receipt of child tax credit in each constituency in Scotland.

Dawn Primarolo: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given on 16 June 2006,  Official Report, column 1421W, to the hon. Member for Birkenhead (Mr. Field).
	There is no breakdown of out-of-work families receiving child tax credit by constituency.

Hospital Closures

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what meetings  (a) she and  (b) Ministers in her Department have had with (i) the former Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire Strategic Health Authority, (ii) the South West Strategic Health Authority, (iii) West Gloucestershire Primary Care Trust and (iv) Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust to discuss hospital closures in Gloucestershire; and if she will place in the Library copies of the records of those meetings.

Ivan Lewis: On July 25, during a visit to the NHS South West area, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health (Ms Hewitt) and Sir lan Carruthers, then chief executive of the national health service, had a meeting at Cirencester. The meeting was with local stakeholders including representatives from NHS organisations in the Gloucestershire area.
	On 10 July my hon. Friend the Minister of State for Health, Andy Burnham, had a meeting in Richmond House with the chair and interim chief executive of the new NHS South West.
	On 21 September, during a visit to North Bristol Hospitals NHS Trust, I had a meeting with the chief executive of the NHS South West and interim chief executive of the NHS South West.
	During these meetings, a range of issues were discussed, including the public consultation from 12 June to 4 September on reconfiguration of services in Gloucestershire.

Mental Health

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the impact the proposed withdrawal of Ebixa will have on the treatment of people in the later stages of Alzheimer's with particular reference to behavioural symptoms.

Ivan Lewis: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave on 13 July 2006,  Official Report, column 2035W.

Mental Health

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the impact of the recommendations of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence on the prescription of Alzheimer's drugs on  (a) people with dementia,  (b) carers of people with dementia and  (c) families of people with dementia.

Ivan Lewis: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave on 13 July 2006,  Official Report, column 2036W.